To hear the justice department tell it, six years ago California announced it was going to violate the US constitution — and nobody noticed until now. That, at least, is the argument President Donald Trump’s administration has made in a lawsuit that’s part of its larger campaign to punish California for its climate leadership.
At issue is the deal California struck with Quebec in 2013, establishing a joint cap-and-trade programme. Negotiated with bipartisan support, the programme has reduced carbon emissions while adding billions to public coffers on both sides of the border. The carbon market it created has worked as intended, and other countries see it as a model...
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